Crib.



J. McKAY.

' CRIB.

1 APPLICATION FILED FEB- 9. ISIS. 1,185,221. I 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Mfnesea In e/0&1,

Patented May 30,1916.

JOHN MCKAY, OF BUFFALO, NEW' YORK, ASSIGNOR T0 HARD MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

CRIB.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 30, 1916.

Application filed February 9, 1915. Serial No. 7,021.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN MCKAY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Cribs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to holding or supporting means for the sides of childrens cribs of that kind which have vertically sliding sides or side railings adapted to be retained in an elevated position for confining the child in the crib and to be lowered to facilitate placing the child in or removing it from the crib.

One object of the invention is to provide desirable, practical and reliable means of simple and inexpensive construction for holding the sliding side in an elevated position which enable the side to be readily raised and secured or released and lowered by means of one hand so that a person carrying a child, for instance, can readily operate the side without having to lay down the child.

Other objects of the invention are to provide simple and readily operable means by which the sliding side can be releasably secured in different elevated positions; to

construct the holding means so that the side cannot be released by lifting or shaking the same as might be done by a child in the crib; .and to make the holding means practically noiseless in action.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a metallic crib provided with side holding means embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof, the top rail of one side of the crib being broken away to better represent the action of the holding means. Fig. 3 is a side elevation showing the two sides of the crib held at different elevations. Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7 are sectional elevations of the side holding means on an enlarged scale in line H, Fig. 1, and illustrating dilferent relative positions of the parts hereinafter explained;

A and B represent the end frames, 0 the side rails of a horizontal bottom or spring frame which connects the end frames, and D D thesliding side frames or railings of a childs crib or bed. A metal crib is shown in the drawings in which, as usual, the bottom frame is formed by the rigid rectangular frame of the bed spring which is detachably secured in any suitable way to the end frames so as to rigidly connect the frames but permit'them to be disconnected and separated. The end frames could, however, be connected by separate side rails or a bottom frame of any other kind. The sides or side railings D D, as usual, consists of upper and lower horizontal rails (Z connected by vertical rods and are arranged to slide up and down on vertical rods d which are secured at their upper and lower ends to projecting brackets d on the end frames and pass through guide loops or eyes d at the ends of the upper and lower rails of the side frames. The crib as thus far described is of a construction commonly employed in metal cribs.

The sliding sides are retained in an elevated position when raised, by holding devices or catches which are mounted on the side rails C of the crib between the ends thereof, and are adapted to engage a part at the lower portion of the side, which may be the lower horizontal rail cl of the side or other suitable part, for holding the side up. In order to enable the sides to be held at different elevations, each side is preferably provided, in addition to the lower rail d, with a horizontal rod E which is located below the lower horizontal rod d of the side, this rod being preferably of less length than the side and connecting the lower ends of two of the vertical rods of the side frame. As the rods cl and E are located at different elevations the side can be supported at two different elevations by engaging one or the other of these rods with the holding device or catch. v

- F F represent the holding devices or catches, which, in the construction shown, consist of rods or shafts which extend horizontally lengthwise of the crib and are journaled near their ends inholes f in upright brackets or bearings f fixed to the side rails C of the crib and are provided with arms f which extend downwardly from the ends of the rod and are provided with outwardly or upwardly turned lower ends or hooks F. In the normal position of the catches the hooks f thereof rest against the feet of the bearing brackets f and extend outwardly beyond the outer vertical faces of the side rails 50 of the crib and of the bearing brackets. Each sliding side normally occupies and is arranged to slide vertically in a vertical plane which is located outwardly slightly beyond the vertical plane in which the-hooked lower ends of the cooperating catch are located, as indicated at the upper side of Fig. 2 and in Fig. 6, so that the side can he slid freely up and down on its guide rods without interference by the hooked ends of the catch.

When it is desired to secure the sliding side in the raised position, it is lifted until the supplemental rod E thereof, for instance, is above the horizontal plane of the hooks of the catch F and the lower edge of the side frame is then pressed or sprung inwardly, as by pressing the same inwardly by the knee, until the lower portion of the side frame engages with the outer faces of the bearing brackets f, as shown in Fig. 4, when, by lowering the side frame slightly, the supplemental rod E is seated in the hooks of the catch as shown in Fig. 5, and

the sideis thereby held in the raised posi-' tion. When the side is thus held in the raised position by the catch F it cannot be disengaged from the catch by simply moving the side up and down or shaking it, as the outward pressure of the rod E of the frame against the outer ends of the hooks, due to the tendency of the lower portion of the frame to spring back to its normal outward position, causes the hooks to cling to the rod and swing up and down with the side frame, as indicated in Fig. 7 The engagement of the side with the top brackets (Z for the guide rods (Z prevents the side from being lifted farenough to free it from the swinging catch.- The side frame cannot, therefore, be disengaged from the hooks and lowered simply by raising and lowering the same or manipulating the side, as might be done by a child in the crib grasping the top rod and shaking or pulling or otherwise tampering with the side, but in order to release the side the lower edge thereof is pressed inwardly, as by the knee, and the side is raised slightly, as by the hand grasping the middle portion of the top rod thereof, until the rod E of the side clears the hooks of the catch. Then when the pressure of the knee is removed from the lower edge of the side, the same springs back to its normal position in a vertical plane outwardly beyond the hooks of the catch and the side can then be lowered by the hand grasping the top rail thereof. Thus, while the side cannot be disengaged from the catch and lowered by manipulating the same from the upper portion thereof, as might be done by a child, nevertheless it can be readily operated by one hand by grasping the top rail of the side between the ends thereof and using the knee to engage or disengagethe lower portion of the side from the catch, so that a person carrying a child in one arm can readily actuate the side with the other hand without laying down the child.

The above description of the operation of the side only mentions the engagement of the supplemental rod E with the catch, in which case the side will be held in its highest position. The side can be held at a lower elevation by engaging the lower rod (Z thereof with the catch F, as shown in Fig. 3. The rod (Z is engaged with and disengaged ;from the catch in the same way as the supplemental rod E.

In the construction shown, thecatches are mounted on the side rails C of the horizontal bottom frame, but in so fa-ras this invention is concerned, it is immaterial how the-catches are mounted so long as they are supported at the sides of the crib in position to cooperate with the bottom rod or other suitable part of the sliding side in the manner described. Instead of springing or bowing the lower portion of the side inwardly between its ends, as indicated in an exaggerated degree in Fig. 2, to engage it with the catch, a similar action could be secured in other ways by mounting or constructing the side so that the part which is engaged by the catch is adapted to be moved inwardly from its normal plane into position to engage the catch.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a crib, the combination of a side arranged to move up and down, and a catch movably mounted independently of said side and normally occupying a position inwardly away from the plane in which the side moves whereby the side can pass the catch, a part of the side being adapted to be moved in wardly to a position to engage said catch, and said catch being movable a limited distance up and down with the side when in engagement therewith.

2-. In a crib, the combination of a side arranged to move up and down, and a swinging catch normally occupying a position out of the plane in which the side moves whereby the side can pass the catch, a part of the side being adapted to be moved out of its normal plane to a position to engage the catch, said catch when engaged with the side being adapted to be swung thereby up and down a limited distance with the side to prevent the unintentional disengagement of the side from the catch.

3. In a crib, the combination of a side arranged to move up and down, and a catch mounted to'move up and down and normally occupying a position inwardly from the plan-e in which the side moves, a part of the side being adapted to be pressed inwardly 1 from its normal plane and engaged with said catch, said catch being held in engagement with said part "by reason of the tendency of said part to return to its normal position.

4. In a crib, the combination of a side arranged to slide up and down on end guides, and a catch pivoted on the crib between the guides 'for said side, the lower portion of said side being adapted to be sprung inwardly between its guides and engaged with said catch and being held in engagement with said catch by reason of the tendency of said lower portion to return to its normal position.

5. In a crib, the combination of a side arranged to slide up and down, and a catch comprising a rod extending parallel with ary, 1915.

JOHN MoKAY. Witnesses:

JOHN E. KRUGER, D. IVAN POMEROY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of ratents,

Washington. D. 0. 

